ZURICH, Switzerland, July 20 (UPI) -- France's Zinedine Zidane and Italy's Marco Materazzi have been suspended and fined by FIFA for their altercation during the World Cup final.
Zidane was suspended for three games and fined about $6,000. Since he has retired from international competition, Zidane will fulfill his suspension with three days of community service, FIFA said in a release Thursday. Materazzi was suspended for two games and fined about $4,000 for provoking Zidane.
Zidane was red-carded late in overtime of the World Cup final July 9 when he head-butted Materazzi in the chest. He claimed the Italian player had insulted his mother and sister. Italy eventually won the game on penalty kicks.
A five-member FIFA committee heard from both players and determined Materazzi's comments were "inflammatory but not of a racist nature," the FIFA release said. Both players apologized for inappropriate behavior and expressed regret at the incident, FIFA said.
